The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1887-08-19
AN AVALANCHE OF WOE
Tho Most Appalling Railroad A.
cident In the Annals q
the Country.
a Heavily Loaded Excursion Tram
Wrecked BY the Burning
Of . Bridge
A Scene or Death, Manning and
Destruction that Beggars
Description.

Over : Hundred Persons KILLED and Twice
- Many Injured nanrrowfns p~sasas
-nsobhing the yscsim~-rsrtiai
list OF Killed and Injured.
FoRKsr, H., Aug. II. Seventy-hvs
killed and three hundred injured. perhaps
4 score Of them fatally, Il the appalling
record OF last nights disater, two miles
east OF this town. Before daylight this
morning there were sixty-hve bodies laid
out ON the prairie, and forty or fifty wound
"a were living under some bushes not far
a&sy. some Of the latter died while being
lifted upon Hat cars for transportation 20
this village. At the wreck hundreds Of
men were searching for more victims, and
shortly after daylight -four more unrecog-
nizable masses OF human flesh and tattsred
clothing were found deep In the ruins
The disaster occurred just before mid
night. In the doomed train were sixteen
cars. all but one carrying passengers, and
the whole drawn by two engines The
train had left Peoria about i've O'Clock
carving more than six hundred excur-
sionists bound for Niagara Falls. Two
miles from this place was . little trestle on
IRE, caught from the burning prairie, no
longer than fifteen feet, and above the
ditch no more than six feet This little
culvert's destruction well nigh caused the
destruction Of the entire train. The cui-
vert safely bore the first engine
but the wheels OF its tender were caught
in the sinking rails, and frightfui wreck
ensued- Car after car leaped the narrow
chasm. and telescoped the coaches preced-
ing. The great weight and impetus OF the
half dozen Pullman sleepers drove their
huge frames with terrible force against
the chair cars and day coaches ahead Of
them The cars were 80 telescoped that u
was almost impossible 20 tell the ruins o.
one from another. One coach entered an
other, splitting Il, and showing All the
seats and passengers in the Ia end, ieav-
ing the floor IS clean 8 II swept by .
broom
In the train there were sixteen cars
6rst the baggage car. then the private car
OF superintendent Armstrong, followed BY
ak dav coaches. two chair cars and six
sleepers. All OF these except the sleepers.
were engulfed in the wreck. The first
sleeper stopped with its forward trucks in
the Inflated culvert. like lis fellows, un.
harmed. But the nine passenger cars and
che baggage car were heaped in mass Of
kidding wood In jumping the culveri
e.. - fo.r ~ the ears left their trucks
buried in the embankment. one under an
other. to . depth Of eight feet. The caI
bod;ex left the trucks and hurled them
selves against the cars preceding
The disaster came absolutely without
warning. Even the engineer OF the mrs
LOCOMOTIVES, Dave Sutherland, had no op
pcrtunity to apply the brakes before reach
ing the culverf, under which the fame
had crept almost unobserved- The engin
Ger OF the second locomotive. Ed AcClin
tock. was killed with his hand on tn
throttle. His body was crushed sand hi
head Is still under the engine Abner Ap
pIerreen. his fireman, says no fire wa
seen IN the culvert. The first be knew 0
The disaster there was q sort Of shock an
ro.r- which he could not understand. AM
he suddenly found himself waist-deep II
debris. his engineer lying headiess by ~
side
ProarA. III. Aug. l1.-4:3O r. Nth
.~.;,, ha.r;nc- thu survivors IL the terribI
...;.r..nt 49, inst come in. They confrr
~. ,,sxxs ~ rbe awful disaster. The sur
~s~y.~s 80 FRAT the scenes az the wrec
-. fr;ghtfnI- II took fire. and rs the
"a ~ water thew were obliged 70 81
,frvr;sh the sames with dust taken fror
~ rrair;e. While they were at work tn
49,. ~. strr<k them- and the shrseking 4
~. M .aded ~ the terrors OF III
~ " whste . pr;nter who lives in til
c;,x 80. .mong the survivors. and Ia
r;..,, vorr rarrespondent ! full account Z
80 ha;ocsnst M snvs: II was in Ii
s 80 sIs.nsr and we were goin
.,on-. .,.ort ,nidnirbt when there came
s.,,.s,1;.r ;ostl;nr 4 thought that We ha
-. Ssrs,Ied Our porter said we q,
q, -, -.-ha, sr,,ne one said There
e. .s.sa, 90 mn and went 70 q
s 49, ~. h..d engine had rushed o
~. ~...,rd engine had tumbled into q
49,. n h.d teIe<coped and the engil
.h.neIess mass. The first car vi
.,,~nsd - riubt and left OF the track, -
~ remaininr eleven cars tslescoped 81
n,led nm n one heap.
s.xar.i u NJ climbed Ia the cars wi
-. ma lanterns and went to work r
at man We found was Billy Stevens. Z
con fectioner. He was dead. We pull
hiun cut after some effort, and then pull
h;s two daughters. Emma and Ida. o.
rxx1M -